Silent Crown

Chapter 425 What to Do?

Chapter 425 What to Do?

"Mr. Hu, you must help me!" Eunuch Zhao grabbed his sleeves, almost shedding tears.

"It is hard for me too! Not only did I travel to this place without stopping for half a month, I can't even understand these barbarians' language. I can't find the person you're looking for, and the embassy said that you were here so I rushed over without even a sip of water.

"And look, these dogs blocked me outside! I said that I came with our emperor's orders but he just wouldn't listen! I've never been so wronged like this! It's fine if I have to stand out in the sun for a few days, but if I fail the Majesty, it would be horrible!

"Oh, right. Why are you here? Where is the duke? My eyes are failing me. Can you please show me?"

Mr. Hu's expression was extremely awkward. Under Eunuch Zhao's highly anticipating eyes, he pointed at Ye Qingxuan. Overjoyed, the eunuch rushed over and bowed.

"Duke, well met!"

Ye Qingxuan was silent. He was speechless and also could not say anything. After not hearing a reply, the eunuch looked up in confusion and squinted. "Ah, what are you wearing…" Before he could finish, he saw the chains clearly and his face paled. "You barbarians! What is this? How dare you? Hurry and unchain the duke! If this was in the East, all of you would be exiled!"

"Order in the court!" Borja pounded the gavel. "Mr. Hu, what is this? This is the Sacred Court! Intruding the court is one thing. Yelling without any rules is another. Do Easterners not understand manners?"

"Wait, wait, this is a misunderstanding!" A priest drenched in sweat who had been chasing the eunuch finally ran in. He stopped the guards and spoke to Eunuch Zhao in basic Eastern language. The eunuch nodded in annoyance.

"Fine. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since this is the court, then I'll follow the court's rules." He waved at his men. "Dismissed."

Then his expression turned ugly. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan's chains. "These must be taken off. Now! This is a serious political case. Mr. Translator, tell that guy pounding the hammer up there that if he can't give a proper explanation, the Aurora Empire will view it as humiliation from the Sacred City! Manners, does he understand?!"

The priest responsible for interpreting froze. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan and his face turned green when he saw the chains. Running over to Borja, he murmured something.

Borja furrowed his brows and loudly said, "I don't care who this Easterner is. This is the Sacred Court and I am the judge. I make the decisions!"

"…What is that barbarian saying?" The eunuch was confused and looked to Mr. Hu.

The man was helpless. "He said that he's judging the trial. He's the biggest."

"Preposterous!" Eunuch Zhao's face changed. He walked over to the podium, got onto his toes, and yelled at Borja, "The trial?! Huh? You? You're qualified?!"

Mr. Hu buried his face and wished he could disappear.

"What is he saying?" Confused, Borja looked at the eunuch who was yelling with spittle flying.

"He's insulting you! Don't mind that. I'll explain later but please get rid of the chains!" The interpreter wiped at his sweat. "Otherwise, it really will become a diplomatic problem."

Borja was stunned. His face darkened. "This is my courtroom! I don't have to listen to others. If he wants to interfere, then give me the Pope's order. Otherwise, I won't listen!"

The interpreter's face darkened as well. His job meant being yelled at from both sides. Since Borja refused to listen, he would not hold back anymore. He awkwardly returned and told the eunuch, "Judge Borja is judging the case now and refuses to retract his order."

"How dare he!" The eunuch was furious. He pointed at Borja, roaring, "What right do you have to judge him? Do you think that you're the minister of the Cabinet? Why don't you barbarians understand the rules?! Even if he has committed a crime, he should be prosecuted by us. Who do you think you are?"

The interpreter rolled his eyes. He skipped the insults and just said, "According to the second amendment, the Sacred City should not interfere with a country's matters! According to the law, nobles should be judged by their own ruler. Ye Qingxuan's identity is sensitive. Judge Borja, please consider your decision carefully!"

Now, the confused Borja finally felt something was wrong. There was a hint of fear but he could not back out now. He could only keep going. "As far as I know, the suspect is a musician without a nationality. There is no identity that the Sacred City recognizes. The law is inapplicable to him…"

"No, no." After hearing the interpretation, Eunuch Zhao chuckled. "Ye Qingxuan is the heir of the Ye Dragon Bloodline. He was born with the status of a duke. How can he be judged like a nobody? Thankfully, I hurried over quickly. If anything happened to you, would you be able to take responsibility?"

Under everyone's eyes, he took out a rosewood box and opened it. He took out a yellow scroll and unfurled it, revealing the stamp left by aether. It was the national seal of the Eastern Aurora Empire. The unique alchemy mark was impossible to forge.

"Before coming, my emperor wrote this personally." He glared at Borja and stated, "The Ye family has inherited the Dragon Bloodline for thousands of years and is hereditary nobility. Today, Ye Qingxuan of the Ye family is of age. He is now given the title of Marquess Changyu with six thousand fiefs!"

The silence was deathly. Everyone stared at Ye Qingxuan in shock. Even Ye Qingxuan could not wrap his mind around this.

Ye Qingxuan…Marquess Changyu…Six thousand serfs… How did he suddenly…become a duke? This had been arranged at birth?

Marquess Changyu? Why did this name sound so weird? Was it a joke? It did not seem like a random title thought up by the country either and was an official title recognized by the Sacred City?

What?

Eunuch Zhao held the scroll and smiled without speaking.

When the nine dragon bloodlines transformed music theory as something inheritable centuries ago, Deva's blood began existing in the world. Those born with it were noble. The Nine Dragon Bloodlines were the general term for the nine noble families with Deva's blood! As the sole survivor of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had not felt it but he became the heir at birth!

When Ye Qingxuan officially became the family leader, he could become a duke. He would be at the same level as the other kings and second only to the emperor!

When the Dark Age ended and the golden era arrived, after the countless changes and wars, there were only two emperors other than the Pope, who ruled the Sacred City, who were recognized by all countries.

One was the Eastern emperor. The position rotated through Nine Dragon Bloodlines. The other was the Asgardian emperor but the position had been empty for sixty years. Other than those, the rules of Anglo and Burgundy called themselves 'emperor' but they were not recognized by the other countries. At most, they were archdukes.

This meant that, if Ye Qingxuan went to the East and was tested by the Dragon Bloodline path, he would become a duke. His status would immediately rise. Other than the Pope, the Eastern emperor, and the Asgardian emperor which did not exist, he would not have to care about anyone else.

When he finally understood this, he was a bit shocked.

Ye Qingxuan looked up at the eunuch and coughed awkwardly. "Uh…Sir, of age is twenty, right?" he asked quietly. "I'm only eighteen…"

"Duke, you must have remembered incorrectly," the man replied with a smile. "The birthdates of the members of the Dragon Bloodline are all recorded carefully. There aren't any mistakes."

Ye Qingxuan could only remain silent. Not only was he suddenly a duke, he also gained two years. This entire thing felt weird but if he could give the Sacred Court a taste of their own medicine, Ye Qingxuan definitely would not correct them.

After the Church verified the scroll, Zhao sneered at Borja. "Please tell your decision. Even if the Marquess Changyu of Aurora committed anything, it should be decided by our emperor. The Sacred City isn't qualified!"

Borja's face darkened and he did not reply.

Within a few minutes, notifications from the various ministries arrived. The Cardinals had sent a command as well. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even expressed that if Borja could not take care of this well, he would have to shoulder all responsibility. Now, his actions of throwing away all pretense of justice and leaning toward the prosecutors looked like a joke. Not only did he destroy his image, he had to endure the mocking eyes too.

If people heard of this, the Amnesty Ministry would not let him remain as the judge anymore. Of course, he could continue insisting that Ye Qingxuan's identity was unclear and refuse to let him go. But if this became a foreign affair crisis, all the countries would probably support Aurora. At that time, if someone decided to use this chance to revise the third amendment, he would have to pay for it as the initiator. The lightest punishment would be being exiled to the Dark World or spend the rest of his life in the Judgement Tower. Or someone may nicely give him a cup of poison…

But now, what could he do?

What to do?

What to do?!